Borderlands pop culture references
There are a number of pop culture references (memes, movie references, etc) in the game: Books and Comics The Canterbury Tales Weapon: Lady Finger The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories about a group traveling to Canterbury. The stories are generally categorized in frames, where the stories within the frame are somehow related, while the relationship between frames is less apparent. The Prioress's Tale tells the story of Madam Eglantine, who wears a ring with the inscription "Amor vincit omnia", which translates into love conquers all. The flavor text of the Lady Finger, Omnia Vincit Amor, means the same. The name Lady Finger may refer to the fingers of the prioress, where the ring was worn. The Dark Tower Character: Roland Roland resembles the protagonist from the series of books "The Dark Tower", written by Stephen King. Fight Club Character: Chuck Durden Chuck Durden refers to ''Fight Club''. Chuck Palahniuk wrote the book, and its main character is Tyler Durden. Frankenstein Enemy: Tankenstein The name Tankenstein is a reference to the Frankenstein's Monster by Mary Shelley. Its appearance matches the widely accepted appearance of the eponymous monster. Tankensteins are healed by Shock damage; in the book Dr. Frankenstein uses power harnessed from lightening to reanimate a dead body. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy franchise Character: Lucky Zaford His last name is a reference to the characters Zaphod Beeblebrox and Ford Prefect. Claptrap (Old Haven): "I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed." A phrase often said by Marvin, the depressed robot in Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. The entire speech of this Claptrap is very similar to how Marvin feels in the book and the rest of the series. The Lord of the Rings Enemy: Helob The Spiderant Helob refers to the giant spider Shelob from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Zombie TK Baha: "Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew" A reference to The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers where Sam is preparing dinner and trying to explain to Gollum what 'taters' are. Merchant of Venice Psycho: "Now it's time for my pound of flesh!" Refers to Shylock's line in the play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. In the play, a "pound of flesh" is to be the payment to Shylock from his client for defaulting on a loan. Moby Dick Mission: T.K.'s Life And Limb Baha is Ahab backwards, and in the book, Ahab was driven mad to find and kill the White Whale after his leg was taken from him. Scar also has several weapons embedded into his head, and is extremely tough. Moby Dick was described as having several harpoons in his head, and numerous scars from where many sailors tried, and failed, to kill him. Games BioShock Guardian Angel: "Would you kindly help him out?" This quote is the trigger to the first Claptrap Rescue mission. The phrase "Would You Kindly" was the trigger phrase used by the main antagonist of BioShock, another game published by 2K Games, to force the player's character to perform actions. As with Bioshock, the storyline will not advance until you have completed this quest. Ratchet and Clank Weapon:Maliwan Rhino Example: http://ratchet.wikia.com/wiki/RYNO_V The most powerful weapon in the Ratchet and clank series, it is commonly a mini gun rocket launcher with numerous barrels (An overkill weapon). R.Y.N.O in the Ratchet and Clank series means: “Rip You A New One”, it is known to be the 'deadliest weapon in the known universe' according to GrummelNet. In Borderlands it is the brand name for the most powerful rocket launchers made by Maiwan as an homage to the Ratchet and Clank series (it is also the most powerful rocket launcher brand in the game, following the tradition of the RYNO series). Blaster Master Blaster Master Outrunner color The name for this color is a reference to a NES game with the same name, featuring a buggy-like tank with a red color scheme. Diablo 2 Enemy: Rakkinishu A reference to the Diablo 2 mini-boss Rakanishu, that you face before entering Tristram. Rakkinishu drops a shield called Cracked Sash, a common item from Diablo 2. Gauntlet Mission: Earl Needs Food... Badly In the old coin-operated arcade game Gauntlet, each of the four characters would receive a unique spoken warning when their life was running low. The Elf's warning message was "Elf needs food, badly!". House of the Dead Mission: House of the Ned House of the Dead is originally an arcade game developed by Sega. You play as agents trying to kill the monsters created by Dr. Curien, a scientist who tried to discover the nature of life and death, but his experiments resulted in dangerous monsters. Left 4 Dead Enemy: Tankenstein The Tank part of Tankenstein may be a reference to The Tank from the Left 4 Dead series. The Tank can also throw objects and punch the player. Super Mario Bros. Achievement: My Brother is an Italian Plumber The eponymous "Mario Bros," Mario Mario and his younger brother Luigi Mario are Italian heroes known for their jumping skills (Mario was at first named "Jumpman"). Though modern depictions rarely feature any elements of plumbing besides Warp Pipes and the brothers' signature overalls originally in the arcade game Super Mario Bros. Mario and Luigi were tasked with purging a sewer of turtles and crabs through jumping onto or into the pests. Oblivion Enemy: Nine-Toes Nine-Toes is the name of a khajitt thief NPC. Nine-Toes is also a argonian Blades agent trainer in Morrowind. Zero Wing Mission: Dumpster Diving For Great Justice Part of a popular internet meme where phrases were wrongly translated from Japanese to English, the best-known being "All your base are belong to us". The phrase "For Great Justice" was supposed to be "Our hopes for the future..." Music Another one Bites the Dust Roland: "Another one bites the dust" Often-used term when defeating an opponent. Roland may say this after killing an enemy. Originates from Another one bites the dust by Queen. I'm on a Boat Achievement: You're on a boat! A reference to the song I'm on a Boat by The Lonely Island. Master Exploder Achievement: Master Exploder Possibly a reference to the song Master Exploder by Tenacious D. Sabotage Mission: Schemin' That Sabotage Possibly a reference to the song Sabotage by The Beastie Boys. Death is the only way out Graffiti: "Death is the only way home" Possibly a refference to song of Trinity Blood. Places Grassy Knoll Location: Trashy Knoll The Grassy Knoll is a small, sloping hill inside the plaza that became famous following the John F. Kennedy assassination. The knoll was above President Kennedy and to his right (west and north) during the assassination. Several witnesses reported hearing shots from its direction. In Borderlands, the Trashy Knoll is located in the north-eastern part of the Rust Commons East. Here, you have to kill Slither. Arthur Treacher's Resturant Location: Treacher's Landing Being a seafaring town, this may be a reference to Arthur Treacher's fast sea-food restuarants. Science Turtles all the way down Graffiti found on walls The phrase "Turtles all the way down" comes from the theory that the world is resting on a turtle. The answer to the question what that turtle was laying on is that there are turtles all the way down. TV and Film A Christmas Story Location: Hidden Basement A secret room can be found in New Haven. Inside this room is a leg lamp. In the movie, The Old Man gets a lamp shaped like a leg. Furthermore, only in this basement can the Rider be found, another reference to this movie. In the movie, Ralph continuously asks for a Red Ryder BB Gun, to which everyone responds: "You'll shoot your eye out." The flavor text on this weapon (Careful... you might put someone's eye out. ') further adds to the reference. Aliens '' Underdome wave 18: "Game over man, game over" This is a quote from the character Hudson. Back to the Future Achievement: 1.21 Gigawatts 1.21 Gigawatts is the power requirement for time travel. Canvas News Challenge: Boom goes the dynamite 19-year old Brian Collins has to replace the regular sports guy, but he fails horribly. One phrase from this broadcast turned into a meme, namely the phrase "Boom goes the dynamite." Con-Air Quote: "I'll take pleasure in gutting you, boy." Rarely, a random bandit may say this phrase. It is reference to a line from the movie Con-Air. Deliverance Quote: "You're gonna squeal before we cook ya" A random enemy may shout this phrase, referring to the movie Deliverance, where Ned Beatty's character is forced to squeal like a pig during a hillbilly encounter. Die Hard Character: Bruce McClane The name Bruce MacClane is a combination of the name of the protagonist from Die Hard, Officer John MacLane, and the actor who played him, Bruce Willis. Dragon Ball Z Xbox Live profile information If a player gets more than 9000 kills, his Xbox Live profile will read "Kills Over 9000". This is a reference to the famous Dragon Ball Z meme, where Nappa asks Vegeta "What does the scouter say about his power level?". Vegeta's reply to that is: "IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAND". This meme can be viewed here. Evil Dead Weapon: Boom Stick In the third movie of this series Bruce's character Ash wields a sawn-off shotgun he calls his "Boomstick". Also, the flavor text of this weapon is '''Beyond Groovy. "Groovy" is Ash's signature phrase. Firefly Character: Jaynis Kobb Reference to the character Jayne Cobb from the TV show Firefly. In the seventh episode, "Jaynestown", the characters enter a mining town where the locals hail Jayne (who is a violent, amoral gunman who'd tried to steal money from the local magistrate years before) as a hero. Mission: Missing Persons During this mission you encounter the corpse of Shawn Stokely with the word "Reaver" carved into his forehead. This references the very raider-like antagonists, who are known as "Reavers", among whom facial mutilation of this type is commonplace. Forest Gump Character: Zombie TK Baha Dead TK talks about all the ways to cook brains, similar to when Benjamin Buford 'Bubba' Blue lists different ways to prepare shrimp. Godzilla Enemies: Skagzilla and Mothrakk The names of these enemies refer to Godzilla, a giant monster, and Mothra, a giant moth, respectively. Gran Torino Challenge: Get off my lawn Clint Eastwood's character is shown breaking up a fight with a M-1 Garand and growling "Get off my lawn." Idiocracy Claptrap repair kit A claptrap repair kit can have the description "It's got what claptraps crave". This refers to the drink "Brawndo" that completely replaces water in the movie Idiocracy. The slogan for "Brawndo" is "It's got what X craves", where X could be replaced by anything. Jem Character: Lilith Lilith resembles the protagonist Jem from the likewise named animated TV series. They both appear as women with heavy make-up and they have bright colored hair. Also, Jem was the alter ego of Jerrica Benton. Jerrica uses a technology that turns her into Jem via holograms, similar to what occurs when Lilith uses her Phasewalk-ability. The names of the skills from Liltih Controller skill tree match the personality of Jem and her being a dancer and singer. Lastly, the achievement Truly Outrageous, which can only be acquired with Lilith, is a catch phrase; in the opening theme Jerrica states that Jem is "Truly Outrageous". Mad Max Character: Mad Mel The name Mad Mel is a combination Mad Max, a character from the similarly named movie series, and Mel Gibson, his actor. Enemies: Skags In the Mad Max movie series, low-life wanderers and bandits are called skags. Skill: Master Blaster In the third Mad Max movie, two characters named The Master and The Blaster, who can combine into Master Blaster. The Madness of King George Weapon: Atlas Cyclops The flavor text "I have you in my eye, sir." is a quote from this movie. Monty Python Achievement: There are some who call me... Tim Upon being asked for his name by King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Tim the Enchanter answers with: "There are some who call me... Tim." Weapon: Maliwan Crux The flavor text for this gun, Bring out your Dead, is a quote from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where a body cleaner is saying this phrase throughout the street. Mystery Science Theater 3000 Achievement: Can't We Get BEYOND Thunderdome? Refers to a joke told by the robots Crow and Tom Servo in episode 706: Tom: "You see, if you live long enough, eventually, someone's going to say the word Thunderdome in your presence." Crow: "That's right, and I'm guessing most of you aren't equipped with a snappy comeback." Tom: "Well..." Crow: "We're gonna give you one." Tom: "We'll act it out for you. Ahem... Boy, I still think we really screwed up on that whole Thunderdome-fiasco." Crow: "Oh, come on, can't we get BEYOND Thunderdome?" This scene can be seen here. It also could be a reference from Mad Max ; Beyond Thunderdome Mythbusters Mission: Well There's Your Problem Right There While this is an old phrase, it is most famously used today by Jamie Hyneman of Mythbusters, usually after he and co-host Adam Savage are surveying the damage wrought by one of their explosions. Not Without My Daughter Mission: Not Without My Claptrap This mission may also be a reference to other movies or series, possible others are Pirates of the Carribean and South Park. This movie is the most likely the mission refers to. Pulp Fiction Mission: I've Got A Sinking Feeling... The names of the ships you have to sink (Righteous Man, Great Vengeance and Furious Anger) refer to the fictionalized version of Ezekiel 25:17 Samuel L. Jackson's character recites. This scene can be found here. Mission: Ned's undead, baby, Ned's undead Reference to the line "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead." This scene can be seen here. The Rock Quote: "I'll take pleasure in gutting you, boy" A random enemy may shout this phrase, referring to the movie The Rock where the same phrase was shouted. The Royal Tenenbaums Character: Mordecai In the movie, Richie has a pet falcon called Mordecai. This is also reflected in Mordecai having a pet Bloodwing, a bird not too different from a falcon. The Running Man Quote "Who loves you and who do you love?" Character: Mad Moxxi In the movie The Running Man, Richard Dawson's character, Damon Killian, uses this phrase as his catch phrase during the movie. Mad Moxxi uses this phrase at different times during any round Saturday Night Live Enemies: Hanz and Franz Hanz and Franz are based on Hans and Franz, two characters from "Pumping Up with Hans and Franz". They spoofed Arnold Schwarzenegger by using padding for fake muscles, drab gray sweatsuits, weight belts, and Austrian accents. Scare Tactics Bandit: "Are you scared? You should be" Scare Tactics is a TV show where the main goal is to scare people. If it succeeds, the someone goes to the victim and asks "Are you scared?". The victim usually answers with a yes, and they would get the reply "You shouldn't be! You're on Scare Tactics!" Sesame Street Menu Screen: Claptrap Claptrap hums, "Nooney-nooney-noon..." as he rolls by in the background of the Menu Screen. This is a possible reference to the Typerwriter Cartoon from classic 1970's era Sesame Street. Slumdog Millionaire Achievement: Pandora-dog Millionaire In the movie, a boy from the slums, who manages to make a lot of money from a television quiz show. To get this achievement, you'll have to collect $1,000,000, similar to how the slumdog from the movie earns a lot of money from the show. Space Balls Location: Ludicrous Speedway In the movie, there is a speed "Ludicrous speed", which is faster than both Light speed and "Ridiculous speed". Challenge: Hot! Too Hot!! Reference to the scene where Dark Helmet is drinking coffee and exclaims "HOT! TOO HOT!" Challenges: Who made that man a gunner? and Keep firing In this scene Dark Helmet first comments on the gunner, telling him "shoot across her nose, not up it." Upon finding out the gunner is crossed eyed, he asks: "Who made that man a gunner?" Later in the same scene, after finding out everyone on the bridge has the surname "Asshole", Dark Helmet directs them to "keep firing, Assholes!" Star Wars Taylor Kobb: "a hive of scum and villainy" '' Obi-Wan Kenobi calls Mos Eisley "a wretched hive of scum and villainy" in Star Wars IV. Trigun ''Marcus: "This is not a planet of peace and love" A reference to the catch-phrase '"Love and Peace"' of the Trigun-character Vash the Stampede. Location: Pandora The world/planet that Trigun is set in and the planet of Pandora are similar; with both planets being mostly a desert wasteland where bandits roam the wastes and various small settlements are scattered throughout the planet. Challenge: Human Tsunami A two-fold reference to Trigun. The main character was famed (albeit falsely) for being the first humanoid localized natural disaster, resulting in him being nicknamed "The Humanoid Typhoon" due to the unnatural aura of destruction that seemed to follow him. In addition, he also had an advanced prosthetic left arm with a SMG hidden in it that he could use. This challenge has you kill 2,500 enemies with SMG's. V for Vendetta Location: The Salt Flats The title of Valerie's only movie, on the set of which she met her lover, is also The Salt Flats. People Nikola Tesla Challenge: Nikola is a friend of mine Nikola Tesla was a famed inventor in the 19th and 20th centuries, perhaps best known for his advancements in commercial electricity, and, by extension, the Tesla coil. Tesla coils are now used primarily for entertainment, as they can send out noticeable bolts of electricity into the air when turned on. U.S.A. In God We Trust Graffiti: "IN GUN WE TRUST" It is not so easy to notice this one but if you play in high resolution, it is clear that a graffiti says "IN GUN WE TRUST".